Originally published at Kenny Omega feels AEW has closed the gap between them and WWE
Omega dives into AEW’s growth and their relationship with companies in Japan.
The reigning AEW World Champion Kenny Omega is coming off a 30-minute time limit draw with Bryan Danielson at Dynamite Grand Slam. That event at Arthur Ashe Stadium was the company’s biggest crowd to date.
Tokyo Sports released part two of their conversation (translation by Hige Channel) with Kenny Omega and Omega spoke about the growth of AEW. He said that there was a huge gap between them and WWE but the tables have turned. He mentioned that he feels WWE is desperate.
At the start, there was a huge gap between WWE and AEW. (AEW) was just some fledgling promotion after all. But have you realized how the tables have turned? WWE is desperate. They keep bringing back legends every other week. COVID is a terrible thing, and we never wanted it to happen but it is what it is.
While following up on his opinion that some wrestlers in Japan haven’t been working hard enough, Omega expressed that in the eyes of some fans in Japan, he is still the number one foreigner.
You won’t realize this in the good times. You’ve seen how these promotions and their parent companies use their money and influence to promote these wrestlers. Unfortunately, it’s not just the wrestlers, but some promotions are unable to understand this current situation. I understand what’s going and I can save them all by myself but… certain promotions don’t want to rely on me. And I don’t care if you get mad reading this. But can you say I am wrong? I’ve already proven myself. With the success of AEW along with it. I’m sure the Japanese fans haven’t forgotten me yet, right? I’m still the ‘#1 Gaijin’ in their eyes.
The working relationship between AEW and New Japan Pro-Wrestling is one that has seen Minoru Suzuki and Satoshi Kojima wrestle at AEW events. Also, Jon Moxley and Eddie Kingston are scheduled for NJPW STRONG tapings in several weeks. Omega reiterated that AEW has an open-door policy.
We’re really open. One of the goals The Young Bucks and myself have is that we have an open policy with every promotion out there, and we hope to make the best content out of it. And we’ve indeed made such a place. And we were able make such a place because, regardless of what anyone else said, we are confident and are grounded enough to defend our achievements and pride until now. You’ve seen Minoru Suzuki Minoru and Satoshi Kojima performing at our regular events with crowds of 10,000-20,000. There’s no constraints behind this. If they have the confidence to come here, I’d love to see them step up to the plate.
To get a recap of the Dynamite Grand Slam event, head over to the ‘Rewind-A-Dynamite’ section of the POST Wrestling site for the review.